A "Thank You" to Remember

After a great week in Gansbaai, we were offered an opportunity to partake in a local treat as a sign of appreciation for our travel and efforts on the field. Initially I thought it might be a taste of some exotic food like the famed "Iseinben?" but I learned quickly that there were bigger things in mind -- GREAT WHITE SHARKS! My heart skipped a beat with excitement as I had for years enjoyed Shark Week, once co-hosting a superb viewing party, if I do say so myself. The location we would be headed to was known as Shark Alley, a known hang out for Cape fur seals. Fitted in our fancy wet suits, as water temperatures were in the low 50's, we set out on the eco-friendly boat with some scientists who would be conducting some research during our journey. I learned, with a bit of despair, that the whole trek to Shark Alley was only 10 minutes from the dock. Wait, that doesn't quite seem far enough for me to feel comfortable going back in the ocean after this?? Anyway, we sailed out, saw a picturesque Right Whale on the starboard side, yes, I am a licensed sea captain, and took in the sights, sounds, and awful smell of the Cape Fur seals before heading closer to shore where we would seek out the deep water (shallow water) predators of the sea. In only one minute, with some fish oil in the water, we (Nick) saw our first shark. I was told the 12 foot beast was small, but he did seem capable of fitting my giant torso into his mouth. A few minutes later, I found myself jumping into the cage with goggles on, a rapid heartbeat and a fear that my foot would slip out of the cage. Once I caught on to twisting my ankle to the side to prevent any slippage, the experience became one to remember and I enjoyed the 6 Great Whites that grazed our cage. In case anyone doesn't know, Great Whites have a massive, muscular body, giant, razor sharp teeth, and just look mean when they rise through the water and attack. And, when you are a few feet from them in their element, that can leave a visual deposit in your memory bank that you hope your Mephloquine never withdraws for its night time games. When I had finished with a second stint in the cage, I could appreciate how this "thank you" would be a bit more lasting than any culinary treat. The Big 2 Town knows what it is doing and is worth a visit!

From the depths of the African continent,
Christian

Meisie Day Parade (Gansbaai Project Part II)

One of the joys of working with Coaches across Continents is seeing the fruits of your labor come to life in the eyes of the children with which we work. On Thursday of the Gansbaai project, I was dedicated to to providing a male voice and support to all the girls who attended the sessions, ages ranging from 2 to 16. I am lucky, as anyone who knows me, to be surrounded by strong women from family, to friends, and even in work. That luck streak continued with the Meisies in Gansbaai (which means girls in Afrikaans). Despite an active parental support system of their own in the field of sport, the girls grew to become more physical in their play and empowered in their cheers for each other. With scream and chants of Meisies Ja ringing in my ears, I knew the day was successful! And with the gritting teeth of my friend Soshi next to me, I knew one girl was never to be bullied!

So when the day concluded, Nick and I went to a meeting at the Grootbos where we enjoyed a fantastic braai, some south african wine and a "green flash" at sunset. Magical day.

Merriest of Christmases all!

Christian -- Meisie for a day.

The Gansbaai Project - Part I

Near the bottom of the continent of Africa, tucked into a bay on the shores of South Africa, lies a small community built around the rich aquatic life that fills its rocky shores. The rough Atlantic ocean supplies hake and other fish as well as squid and the precious, protected abalone - a mollusc about twice the size of a large oyster. The three "townships" that make up the year round community challenge the ocean for its diversity. The Masakahne township is made up of Eastern Cape families that mainly speak Xhosa -- the challenging "clicking" language. 8,000 or more people live in this tiny shanty town, with a 40% employment rate generally holding fishing factory jobs. In order to survive, many of these family illegally poach the abolone from the shores by hiding in the water and caves and diving at night for the expensive shells. The second township is Blompark and consists of families that have lived in this area for generations and generally speak Afrikaans now. Many of the families from this area have government jobs but still live in one-room houses and struggle with unemployment rates over 50%. The third "township" woudl hardly categorize itself as a township (and neither would I) but that is how it was labeled to me so who I am to judge. The houses in de Kelders were nice and some extravagantly constructed.

In the middle of three communities is a recently built state-of-the arte sports facility that provides the home to a group working to integrate the communities and to teach the children many life skills, including a heavy focus on environmental issues like recycling, agriculture, and protection of wildlife and the fynbos -- the local flora environment rich with over 600 species of plant in a 10 km area (who listened to the hosts?). By engendering a love for "their" environment, the group hopes to build community pride amonst all the children and to erase ethnic divisions by creating ONE community. All of this is done through sport. For the week spent in this naturally breathtaking environment, we saw strides taken by the coaches as well as the joyful children, despite the gale force winds in which we worked and the epic neckburn through which I stupidly suffered (I did become more "preceise" in my application of sunblock). I am now known as zebra neck; maybe my worst nickname yet.

One love,

Christian

Durban Vice

A quick post due to limited internet availability -- on our journey through South Africa, we stopped in with one of our partners doing fantastic work in Durban -- the Miami of Africa. Not sure this town needs to be compared to Miami as the people were unique enough as it is! Great work by this group and excellent hosts as well.

You ask many questions man?

(The Drackensberg Mountain Range)

As my father can attest from our early walks in the woods, I like my questions. Not sure if that makes me inquisitive or dumb. Either way, I ask most of them (but make sure to not ask anyone their opinion on why I ask them;). So, when we found ourselves with a free afternoon in the Drackensberg mountain range of South Africa on our way to our next partner visit in Durban, I asked the boss if we could put our work reports on hold for a couple of hours and take advantage of a hike I read about. Since his arms are particularly weak, I twisted them easily and we entered the World Heritage site of The Ampitheatre. In our rugged soccer shoes, we hiked through some rain and encountered some breathtaking views of lush slopes contrasted against jagged mountain tops. Scattered throughout the vistas were fires from the houses of the local townspeople and the shepherds tending the village's cows, at rate of 50 Rand per cow for a year (7 Rand to a $1USD). We also learned that it generally costs 11 cows to ask for a woman's hand in marriage, with the cost decreasing by 2 cows for each child already born by the proposed wife. Both Nick and I were quoted a 22 cow rate though, clearly indicating that we had been traveling in the Wicked Camper too long.

In order to make one specific hike, we were forced to hire a guide at the cost 40 Rand. Seems that caring for Nick and me for an hour is almost equivalent to caring for a cow for a year. We took it as though we were more precious cargo and moved on. Trekking up some 100 meters in elevation, we arrived at our destination where I earned my name "You ask many questions man". There, near the top of a mountain, overlooking the expansive valley, were remnants of Bushman paintings that had endured the elements, and disrespectful human hikers, for over 800 years. While we were only allowed to see one set of the drawings, the hike was well worth it. There were communication aspects to the paintings whereby fellow bushmen relayed the type of hunting that could be had below and the season when wildlife thrived. Further, the drawings demonstrated an active community life with dancers and musical instruments clearly taking a central role.

We could have stayed for hours but it was getting dark and the guide was growing weary (of all my questions). As a result, we set back along the path on which we came, happy that we took the time to see one of the many sights that these trips afford us that are so starkly different from the places in which we normally reside. And, now I had a better sense of my financial goals for 2011 -- I must save for the purchase of 22 cows!

Mooooooo, Christiano

Butha-Buthe Celtics

In the remote, border town in northern Lesotho called Butha-Buthe (boo-ta-boo-tee), children work hard, I mean really physically hard, just to help with the chores around the house -- hiking to gather sticks to burn for fire, trekking to find water to drink and to do wash, and schlepping tools to the valley to try and grow food. As you can imagine, farming in the mountains takes a physcial toll that my urban body would probably flounder under, despite hours of honing its Zeus-like qualities;)

Despite these obstacles, there are naturally majestic views and resolve in the people that can hardly be put into words. So, I have attached a picture! Here, in a small, lush green pasture, with grass over a foot tall, Ms. Mika was dedicating her free time to help empower the local girls through the training she received in Maseru, the capital. With the laughter and smiles of these girls, I knew Ms. Mika's time to travel by mini-bus for over an hour to recive training in the city was a good investment. Moreover, this confirmed for me the credibility of the CaC "train the trainers" model. As we drove away to continue our work, I felt like the world had taken one small step forward. Although she is a tiny, little lady, or I am a giant of an American man who truly enjoys his fast foods, she packs the energy and dedication needed to inspire this nice group of girls. Thank you Ms. Mika! I know you will inspire my many nieces AND nephews through your work.

And, I hope you enjoy the indestructable One World Futbol during the drier, rocky months...

Collywobbles, Christiano

Loose suit tooth?

Sound out the title, and that is close to the correct pronunciation of the small, completely encased country of Lesotho, one of our first stops on this voluntour. In the capital of Maseru, a fantastic organization called Kick4Life works with the youth in western Lesotho to teach life skills, with a focus on HIV/AIDS awareness, through soccer. While my time in Lesotho was short by my 2009 standards, we immersed ourselves in the games and both shared our learning but also acquired great information from the young coaches who were receiving training to head out into the more rural areas of Lesotho to spread their newly ascquired skills and knowledge. This work almost didn't happen though as ourborder crossing turned a bit hairy when our South African exit stamp could not be found in our passports. Nick and I were told to park our car called the Wicked Camper and to head into the office with the guard. Were we in line for another Million Kwacha episode? After a few passing moments of difficult questioning, Nick and I found our stride and the stamp, and soon had the guards laughing and asking about America, specifically the "dance" scene in New York. So, we stretched it out" for a second and pulled off the running man to great applause, a laugh and a stamp to enter Lesotho. Before they could request a second dance number, we took our passports and waived good-bye. Who knew my days at the Pub or the Bimini Beach Club would provide me with safe passage into a foreign land! Well, I am off to do some work on a curriculum but will post again soon.

Collywobbles,

Christian

PS Happy Birthday Jacqueline! You too old man Josh.

Lessons learned?

Shahp shahp -- Thanks Mom for getting me to the airport on time! I have landed safely in South Africa and am already plotting my drive to Windhoek. Before I get started though I needed to reflect on the ease of my travels this time. Preparation was key. For one, I wore dark pants, in case of a repeat trans-Atlantic chocolate incident. Clear on that front. But, seriously, who was to foresee that someone would travel with glitter to Johannesburg, let alone open it up on the plane. I guess I shall be a sparkling light on this voluntour one way or another! Second, I was reminded of my need to balance adventure with caution. What better reminder than passing a billboard in the Atlanta airport sporting Jane G. and a chimp. No, it wasn't Frodo, as I will never forget his face, but still, if that is not a reminder. Third, I have learned to keep these entries brief as the computers crash too often;) So, with that, I say until my next entry.

Christian

PS 3 days Quackles, 3 days.